16th century painting by Italian master Raphael coming to S.F.

Raphael’s “Portrait of a Lady With a Unicorn,” which dates to 1505-06, will receive a one-painting exhibition in the Legion of Honor’s Gallery One from Jan. 9 to May 15, 2016.

Photo: Fine Arts Museums San Francisco

An early 16th century painting by the Italian master Raphael will make its Western premiere at the Legion of Honor in January, after its U.S. debut in Cincinnati this fall.

“Portrait of a Lady With a Unicorn” will receive a one-painting exhibition in its own gallery with its own catalog, as befits a work similar to the “Mona Lisa,” which was painted at roughly the same time and place by Leonardo da Vinci.

“The ‘Mona Lisa’ is the singular portrait of the High Renaissance, but we find ‘Portrait of a Lady With a Unicorn’ to be just as beautiful and compelling,” said Esther Bell, curator in charge of European paintings for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “We believe Raphael was familiar with da Vinci’s work, and there is definitely a stylistic tie to be made to the ‘Mona Lisa.’”

As announced Friday, Aug. 7, the painting will arrive on loan from the Galleria Borghese in Rome, where it has been in the collection since 1682. The oil on canvas, which measures 26 inches by 20 inches and is dated to 1505-06, has toured Europe but never the United States.

Bell first saw it in Rome when she was working for the Cincinnati Art Museum, and started the process of borrowing it. She contacted FAMSF, which agreed to partner in the exhibition.

“I knew the Legion of Honor would be the ideal spot for this canonical masterpiece,” says Bell, who describes the painting as “one of the finest examples of female portraiture from Raphael’s Florentine period.”

Bell knew it would take two years to land the painting, but she did not know that during those two years she would be recruited to FAMSF. Also, during that time span, FAMSF tested the concept of a single-painting show, with “Schiava Turca,” (“Turkish Slave”), a painting by Parmigianino, which also came from Italy. It opened for display at the Legion last July and was still up when Bell joined the FAMSF staff in September.

“The idea of bringing one very important work to our museum gives our viewers an opportunity to slow down and spend time with one image, and this work really lends itself for that type of introspection,” says Bell. “Portrait of a Lady With a Unicorn” will command Gallery One, which is prominent near the front door to the Legion.

Sam Whiting has been a feature writer at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1988. He started in the People section, which was anchored by Herb Caen's column, and has written about people ever since. He has been a staff writer at Chronicle Magazine since 2001 and for five years had a weekly magazine column called Neighborhoods. He currently covers art, culture and entertainment for the Datebook section. His assignments have ranged from Elvis's "Death Week" in Memphis to Christo's "Umbrellas on the Grapevine" north of Bakersfield.